Chinese genealogies as a source for demographic research: A further assessment of their reliability and biases

Abstract

Genealogy is the written record of family or lineage members descended from a common ancestor or ancestors. These materials have long been used by demographers in their investigation of past demographic behaviour. Most available genealogies, however, are the records of members of surviving patrilineages. Among the many reasons why these patrilineages have avoided extinction is the fact that they have usually experienced favourable demographic conditions.. In consequence, their genealogies could be a biased data source if used in the study of the history of the whole population. This paper examines this issue, using evidence on the historical experience of the Chinese population and computer micro-simulation.